Abstract —In this study we examined the climbers of Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh (SMFB) in its 32 representative sites. The climbers of SMFB were comprised of 53 species belonging to 46 genera under 20 families. 44 species were recognized as vines and 9 species were lianas. 25 species of the climbers were non-mangrove, 19 mangrove associates and 9 mangrove species. Species richness of the climbers was higher in the sites of oligohaline zone than those of mesohaline or polyhaline zones. Climber density was higher at the forest edges than in the interior forest and found as gradually decreasing with the increase in distance from the edge. DAFOR scale recognized 46 species in rare category. Distribution of climbers exhibited a wide variation in different gradient of saline zones. 16 climber species were found as aggressive invasive affecting the growth, development and regeneration of many other species of SMFB. Keywords— Bangladesh, climbers, salinity, Sundarbans. I. INTRODUCTION LIMBERS are a group of vascular plants that germinate on floor and grow for part of their life by winding ground, anchoring or adhering to other plants [1] to attain great stature [2]. Climbers are constituted with more than 110 families which share nearly one-quarter of the total vascular plants [3]. Climbing plants show a great diversity in their climbing mechanism [1], [4], depending on which they are classified as root climbers, hook climbers, tendril climbers, leaf or stem climbers or twiners [5]-[8]. Few studies on climbers have distinguished three categories of climbing plants, namely woody climbing plants (lianas), herbaceous climbing plants (vines) and climbing shrub [9]. But most authors consider the climbing shrubs as lianas and therefore, recognize lianas and vines as the main groups of climber [10], [11]. Climbing plants are found in numerous ecosystems, but are more abundant and diverse near the equator [12], [13] in low Gazi Mosharof Hossain 1 , Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka,1342 Bangladesh (corresponding author’s phone: 880-7791045- 51 Ext. 1436, Cell Phone: +8801715370388; fax: 880-2-7791052 ; e-mail: gazibotju@gmail.com). Mohammad Sayedur Rahman 2 , Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka,1342 Bangladesh, on deputation from Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education, Dhaka, Bangladesh (e-mail: sayedur.rahman@gmail.com). Saleh Ahammad Khan 3, Department of Botany, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka 1342 Bangladesh (e-mail: salehju@yahoo.com). elevation tropical forests than in temperate forests [14], [15]. Climbers represent respectively 7% and 20% of the local flora in temperate and tropical forests [12]. In tropical rain forest, they comprise about 25-30% of species diversity [13]. In tropical forests at least 50% of the trees contain lianas [16]. Climbers play important ecological roles in the forest ecosystem dynamics [17] and functioning [5], [18] and species diversity [13]. Other roles of climbers include suppressing tree regeneration, increasing tree mortality, providing a valuable food resource for animals, physically linking trees together, thereby providing canopy-to-canopy access for arboreal animals [19], [13]. Climbers often play important roles during forest succession after natural and anthropogenic disturbances [20] that act as the catalysts [21] for accelerating the establishment of alien species [22]. The host plants or trees that provide mechanical supports to climbers are effective competitor for light and space [23], [24] and water and nutrients [14]. The giant climbers or lianas can cause mechanical damage to their host plants. Recent studies have even demonstrated the increasingly important role of lianas in forest regeneration, species diversity and ecosystem- level processes and in socio-economic life of human beings [4], [18], [25]. Some climbers might be invasive due to their luxuriant growth [26]. Invasive climbers might have negative influence on native plant species and can act as one of the greatest threats to the ecological and economic well-being of the planet [27]. Though climbers have some important roles, the research works on this group are nearly neglected [7], [28]. Reference [19] led to renew the interests on this group probably after [29] and thereafter climber related research began slowly to increase [13]. Recently, interest on climber related studies has been notably increased [7]. Some ecological studies on the climbers are now available from the forests of different countries [30]-[35]. The Sundarbans mangrove forest is remarkably important for its floristic and faunal composition, wildlife habitats, and ecological values due to which it was declared by UNESCO as the world’s 560th Ramsar Wetlands Site and 798th World Heritage Site in 1992 and 1999, respectively [36]. But any detail study on the flora of Sundarbans mangrove forest of Bangladesh (SMFB) has not yet been completed after [37]. Inventories on the climbers of this mangrove forest are not available, though a study on the species richness of climbers Species Composition, Richness, Density and Distribution of Climbers in Relation to Salinity in Sundarbans Mangrove Forest of Bangladesh Gazi Mosharof Hossain, Mohammad Sayedur Rahman, and Saleh Ahammad Khan C International Journal of Chemical, Environmental & Biological Sciences (IJCEBS) Volume 3, Issue 1 (2015) ISSN 2320–4087 (Online) 78